Vaeos have been at it. Which they may easily perceive by this Case of dirt, which they cannot go up any where without building as they go. And wheresoever this is seen, no doubt the Ants are there. In places where there are no houses, and they can eat nothing belonging to the people, they will raise great Hills like Butts, some four or five or six foot high; which are so hard and strong, that it would be work enough to dig them down with Pick-Axes. The Chingulays call these Humbosses. Within they are full of hollow Vaults and Arches where they dwell and breed, and their nests are much like to Honeycombs, full of eggs and young ones. These Humbosses are built with a pure refined Clay by the ingenious builders. The people use this Clay to make their Earthen Gods of, because it is so pure and fine. 1681. The curious the Vaeos. This sort of creatures as they increase in multitudes, so The manner they dy in multitudes also. For when they come to of their death. maturity they have wings, and in the Evening after the going down of the Sun, (never before) all those that are fledged and ripe, will issue forth in such vast numbers, that they do almost darken the Sky, flying to such an height, as they go out of sight, and so keep flying till they fall down dead at last upon the Earth. The Birds that tarry up late, and are not yet gone to roost, fly among them and make good Suppers of them. The People in this Land never feed their Poultry. But they feed upon these Ants, which by scraping among the leaves and dirt they can never want; and they delight in them above Rice or any thing else. Besides all these Ants already mentioned, there are divers other distinct sorts of them. But we will proceed to a more beneficial Insect, the Bee. Bees of Of which there be three sorts. The first are the Mee- several kinds. masses, which are the right English Bees. They build in hollow Trees, or hollow holes in the ground, which the Vaeos have made. Into which holes the men blow with their mouths, and the Bees presently fly out. And then they put in their hands, and pull out the Combs, which 1681. Bees that build on Trees like Birds. [P. 25.] The people cat the Bees, as well as their honey. Leaches that ly in the grass, and creep on Travellers Legs. they put in Pots or Vessels, and carry away. They are not afraid of their stinging in the least, nor do they arm themselves with any cloths against them. The second are the Bamburo's, larger and of a brighter colour than our English Bees. Their Honey is thin like water comparatively. They make their Combs upon limbs of Trees, open and visible to the Eye, generally of a great height. At time of year whole Towns, forty or fifty in company together will go out into the Woods, and gather this honey, and come home laden with it for their use. The third sort they call Connameia, signifying a blind Bee. They are small like a Fly, and black. They build in hollow Trees; and their honey somewhat tartish: and they make such small quantities of it, that the people little regard it. The Boyes will sometimes cut a hole and take it out. When they meet with any swarms of Bees hanging on any Tree, they will hold Torches under to make them drop; and so catch them and carry them home. Which they boyl and eat, and esteem excellent food. There is a sort of Leaches of the nature of ours, onely differing in colour and bigness. For they are of a dark reddish colour like the skin of Bacon, and as big as a Goose quill, in length some two or three inches. At first, when they are young, they are no bigger than a horse hair, so that they can scarce be seen. In dry weather none of them appear, but immediately upon the fall of Rains, the Grass and Woods are full of them. These Leaches seize upon the Legs of Travellers; who going barefoot according to the custom of that Land, have them hanging upon their Legs in multitudes, which suck their blood till their bellies are full, and then drop off. They come in such quantities, that the people cannot pull them off so fast as they crawl The blood runs pouring down their Legs all the way they go, and 'tis no little smart neither, so that they would willingly be without them if they could, especially those that have sores on their Legs; for they all gather to the on. sore. 1681. Some therefore will tie a piece of Lemon and Salt in a The remedies rag and fasten it unto a stick, and ever and anon strike they use it upon their Legs to make the Leaches drop off: others against them. will scrape them off with a reed cut flat and sharp in the fashion of a knife. But this is so troublesom, and they come on again so fast and so numerous, that it is not worth their while and generally they suffer them to bite and remain on their Legs during their Journey; and they do the more patiently permit them, because it is so wholsome for them. When they come to their Journeys end they rub all their Legs with ashes, and so clear themselves of them at once: but still the blood will remain dropping a great while after. But they are most annoyed by them when they go out to stool a-Nights, being small and of the colour of their bodies, so that they can neither see nor feel to pull them off. And these, tho they be in such quantities in some of these Countreys, yet in others there are none at all, nor ever were known to have been. But besides these, there are Water Leaches the same with ours. Monkeys. Of which there are abundance in the Woods, Apes and and of divers sorts, some so large as our English Spaniel Monkeys of Dogs, of a darkish gray colour, and black faces, with great white beards round from ear to ear, which makes them shew just like old men. There is another sort just of the same bigness, but differ in colour, being milk white both in body and face, having great beards like the others; of this sort of white ones there is not such plenty. But both these sorts do but little mischief, keeping in the Woods, eating onely leaves and buds of Trees, but when they are catched, they will eat any thing. This sort they call in [p. 26.] their Language, Wanderows. There is yet another sort of Apes, of which there is great abundance, who coming with such multitudes do a great deal of mischief to the Corn, that groweth in the Woods, so that they are fain all the day long to keep Watch to scare them out: and so soon as they are gone to fray them away at one end of the Field; others who wait for such an opportunity come skipping in at the other; and before they can turn, will divers kinds. |